Parenting strategy boost
- The government’s new parenting strategy, launched this week, aims to give parents easier access to information and support. A total of #163;18 million will be invested over the next three years, and legislation introduced to establish a dedicated first point of contact to co-ordinate support for every child who needs it. The Play Talk Read campaign will also receive #163;1 million per year for the next three years.
Election changes recommended
- An independent commission, chaired by University of Strathclyde elections expert Professor John Curtice, has recommended big changes to the way in which elections to the Scottish Youth Parliament are conducted. Recommendations include lowering the voting age from 14 to 12 and all young people being able to vote for their local Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament.
Summer holiday pay shows up
- More than 60 teachers have received the summer holiday pay they were owed by Moray Council after the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers intervened and TESS flagged up the issue. Last month, TESS highlighted the plight of English teacher Claire Little - one of 61 teachers who had been left out of pocket on leaving the council’s employment because it refused to pay for almost three weeks of the summer holidays.
Edinburgh College launched
- The new Edinburgh College, created through the merger of Jewel and Esk, Stevenson and Telford colleges, was launched officially this week. The new institution will accommodate over 35,000 students and employ around 1,300 staff. On the same day, Elmwood, Oatridge, Barony, and Scottish Agricultural colleges also merged to form the Scottish Rural College, SRUC. It will provide research, further and higher education and consultancy to customers in the UK and abroad.
Clarification
- Rebecca Crawford, who was quoted in the article “Small matter for scientists” (28 September), has asked us to clarify that she is development manager for Science Connects, which is based at the University of Glasgow. The initial reference to Dr Crawford in the published version of the article was ambiguous, so that it was possible to infer that she worked for Education Scotland.
